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August 30, 2006“I’m a terrorist?” Press itself causes doubt.A year ago we were listening to reporters tell us that the Superdome was hell-on-earth, that gangs were raping and murdering babies…based on nothing more factual than an escape of hot air out of someone’s inflamed rantings. Now, has some video that I’m not sure we should pay any attention to: From KTVU in San Francisco, here’s a little bit of information that somehow failed to make it into any of the media reports on yesterday’s hit and run attacks in San Francisco. Watch as reporter Rob Roth says a witness heard the suspect refer to himself as a “terrorist,” then without taking a breath tells us this was not an act of terrorism. It’s a quick clip. When I watched it I became less worried about whether or not the San Francisco perp was a “terrorist” (the official story is that he is “mentally ill.” I could suggest that anyone who wants to kill strangers, either by SUV or Anthrax is mentally ill, but what’s the point?”) (UPDATE: Ace links to video that seems to confirm the perp calling himself “a terrorist,” although that is quickly pooh-poohed: “this is many things but not an act of terrorism…). Okay, honey. No, what bothered me as I watched the clip is that in just a scant 5 years, the broadcast media has moved from the outstanding work they did on 9/11, to being completely unreliable because they are so anxious to sputting anything, anything at all, into their microphones and at their cameras. 24-hour news programming has created an insatiable beast, always looking for “more story” and all-too-quick to relay unvetted, unconfirmed information - which has led to some horrific and emotionally draining mistakes on their part. It’s easy to make mistakes when a story is breaking, though, and so a little slack may be cut. But the press is seems to be throwing away credibility with both hands, as fast as they can. They run off a cliff after John Mark Karr, when most of us were heavily doubting the guy’s guilt and sanity the night the story “broke.” Caught being sloppy, lazy and incurious about the war between Isreal and Hezbollah, they blame Israel for their remarkably poor coverage And ummm…the NY Times seems to have mis-spoken again. Or something. See the update to that piece. Without further comment, a compendium of journalistic ineptitude and puddle-stepping for your entertainment, edification and hard drives: America’s MainstreamMedia: A Perfect Guide to Doing Things Right, by Larry Leonard (yes, it’s sarcasm). I’m sure I’ll be adding to this as the day - just today - wears on. http://theanchoressonline.com/2006/08/30/the-press-has-done-this-to-themselves/trackback/ 2 Responses to ““I’m a terrorist?” Press itself causes doubt.” |
August 31st, 2006 at 12:06 am
The media orphan
There’s a famous definition of the Yiddish word “Chutzpah” (which could be translated as “nerve” or “gall:” A man kills his parents and then throws himself on the mercy of the court on account that he’s an orphan. YNet reports on a conference o…
August 31st, 2006 at 12:07 am
[...] The Anchoress cites the article as part of a general indictment of the media. But what’s my take? When I take a picture, I look through the viewfinder and try to center the most importaint element of the picture. As it happens, when, I do this, often some clutter enters the pictures around the extremes. I can take a really good picture, but there’s someone or somethng that I don’t want off to one side. In general the media is much the same way. It focuses on a central; a narrative that shapes their reporting. If a detail doesn’t fit into the picture they’re drawing, then they ignore it. They airbrush it out. And we’re not supposed to no that it exists. Deja Vu linked to an article from today’s NY Times (though not by Erlanger) that illustrates this beautifully, “Lift Blockade of Lebanon, Annan Urges.” (The headline is illustrative of this phenomenon. Does it say “Annan ignores plight of Israeli hostages?” No. But it’s clear like the usual premise of the MSM that the sole obligations here are Israel’s.) Say the article had a paragraph (referring to His Excellency Kofi ) The Lebanese had failed to insist that Hezbollah disarm to comply with Resolution 1701, only requesting that the group not display its arms publicly” His reference was to the dominance in southern Lebanon of the Hezbollah terrorist organization, which provoked a hugely destructive 34-day war with Israel by launching irregular cross-border raids against Israel culminating in the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers and killing of eight more on July 12. [...]